This invention relates to a dry-cleaning solvent and in particular to a dry-cleaning solvent composition having properties of low pollution and low toxicity and used as a dry-cleaning solvent for the textile such as fabrics and clothes.
Organic solvents, such as perchloroethylene, trifluoro-trichloroethane, trichloroethane etc., are conventionally used as a dry-cleaning solvent for dry-cleaning the textile, because hydrophilic fibers of the textile are not expanded and deformed when they are dry-cleaned with the organic solvents and the capability of the organic solvent in removing greasy dirts is significant.
Further, perchloroethylene has an excellent chemical stability which is also inflammable and inexpensive. Nevertheless, it is harmful if an excess quantity of perchloroethylene is inhaled, which may cause damage to liver, kidney, skin, sense organs, nerve systems etc. It is known that dry cleaners inhale an excess quantity of perchloroethylene may easily get liver cancer, kidney cancer, bladder cancer etc. For trifluorotrichloroethane and trichloroethane, they damage the ozone of the earth and cause greenhouse effect, so they are not going to be used after year 2000.
Even in Taiwan, stoddard solvents type I and type II which are petroleum solvents produced by the Chinese Petroleum Corporation can also be used as a dry-cleaning solvent for dry-cleaning the textile. Stoddard solvents type I and type II likely damage our living environment and hurt the health of dry cleaning workers, and they can corrode fibers of the textile during dry cleaning and have a characteristic of exploding with flame so that these petroleum solvents are dangerous in use and storage.
Thus, a dry cleaning solvent is required to overcome the above problems and completely replace the above-mentioned conventional organic solvents.
The object of the present invention is to provide a dry-cleaning solvent composition which has properties of low pollution and low toxicity and may slightly affect the color fastness of the fabric when the fabric are dry-cleaned with the dry-cleaning solvent composition. The composition is an environmentally friendly solvent thereof.
The present invention provides a dry-cleaning solvent composition comprising a compound or solvent selected from the group consisting of propylene glycol methyl ether formate (also known as propylene glycol mono methyl ether formate, PMP), propylene glycol methyl ether acetate (also known as propylene glycol mono methyl ether acetate), propylene glycol methyl ether propionate (also known as propylene glycol mono methyl ether propionate), propylene glycol methyl ether butyrate (also known as propylene glycol mono methyl ether butyrate), propylene glycol ethyl ether formate (also known as propylene glycol mono ethyl ether formate), propylene glycol ethyl ether acetate (also known as propylene glycol mono ethyl ether acetate), propylene glycol ethyl ether propionate (also known as propylene glycol mono ethyl ether propionate), propylene glycol ethyl ether butyrate (also known as propylene glycol mono ethyl ether butyrate), ethylene glycol methyl ether formate (ethylene glycol mono methyl ether formate), ethylene glycol methyl ether acetate (ethylene glycol mono methyl ether acetate), ethylene glycol methyl ether priopionate (ethylene glycol mono methyl ether propionate), ethylene glycol methyl ether butyrate (ethylene glycol mono methyl ether butyrate), and the mixture thereof. The dry-cleaning solvent may further comprise below 70 wt % of a compound or solvent selected from the group consisting of perchloroethylene, stoddard solvent type I, stoddard solvent type II, and the mixture thereof.